Biz Week in Review

Saturday

Nov 24, 2007 at 12:01 AMNov 24, 2007 at 7:26 PM

This week in New England business news.

Drivers could see 7.7% cut in insurance rates
Auto insurers filed proposed rates under the state's first attempt at increasing competition in the industry in about 30 years. Insurance rates would drop by 7.7 percent, on average, under the rates that were filed Monday. But rates likely would have fallen anyway under the more heavily regulated system that previously was in place so it's too early to know if motorists will gain much of a financial benefit from the change.
Coakley questions TJX 3-day sale plan
TJX's plans for three days of sales at T.J. Maxx, Marshalls and other stores next year have run into some resistance from Attorney General Martha Coakley and other states' top lawyers who are worried that the main purpose of the sale is just to fatten TJX's bottom line. The Framingham-based retailer would hold the sales as part of its plan to pay back customers after a massive data breach that compromised millions of bank cards - and subsequent lawsuits.
Bad news, good news in foreclosure sales
New figures show foreclosure sales in Massachusetts have more than doubled this year so far, but the rate of foreclosure sales dropped off significantly to 673 in September after peaking at 1,018 in August. The drop could be attributed to lenders who are working with borrowers to resolve problems with their loans.
Homeowners get mortgage lifeline
The state Legislature threw a lifeline to struggling homeowners and first-time home buyers Tuesday by crafting a bill aimed at curbing foreclosures. It mandates counseling for certain types of risky loans, requires lenders to give delinquent borrowers more time to catch up on their payments and forces loan originators to be licensed with the state.
Greyhound racing ban gains momentum
The revived effort to end greyhound racing has gained momentum now that supporters have turned in more than 100,000 signatures supporting a statewide ban. That figure easily exceeded the roughly 66,000 names required to move the proposed ballot question forward for a possible statewide vote next November.
The Patriot Ledger